Pages

Tuesday, February 05, 2013

Kashmir Girl Band Calls It Quits After Fatwa and Rape and Death Threats

The threats started after the all-girl high school rock trio 'Pragaash' had won a battle of the bands in December, it was the first time they had performed in public. But the easily-offended Muslim conservatives took to Facebook and started posting on Kashmir news pages calling for the girls to be raped and then drowned.

A Facebook page KashmirNews posted a photograph of the band with a caption stating: 'Personally, I consider them as shameless and spoiled brats...

'A lot of people criticised the girls. Some even went on to say, "Post this status in advance. The three band girls raped in Jammu and thrown in river."'

The band members, Farah Deeba, guitarist Aneeka Khalid and vocalist-guitarist Noma Nazir, refused to talk on the issue but were reportedly shaken by the threats.

They were so shaken, the parents sent the girls possibly to New Delhi, to sit out the controversy.

Some Jammu and Kashmir officials have bravely criticized those who have threatened the girls. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said:

'Shame on those who claim freedom of speech via the social media and then use that freedom to threaten girls who have the right to choose to sing.

'I hope these talented young girls will not let a handful of morons silence them.'

The owner of the academy where the three trained, and their manager Adnan Mattoo, also encouraged the girls to hang in there.

'They are just 15 and too young to face such abuse.

'They are hurt. They cried, but I tried to convince them to continue.'

But after the head Mufti Bashiruddin Ahmad issued a fatwa demanding they quit, calling them "indecent" and their music "un-Islamic", the girls have decided to stop playing music and have disbanded.

This is the 21st century and we're still getting threats to rape and kill young girls because they play music people don't approve or like?